1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information-processing apparatus and program thereof suitable for constructing a network environment for managing a device connected with any one of mutually connected networks with a terminal connected with the same network as the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique for managing a device connected with a local area network by utilizing a terminal connected with the same local area network as that of the device is known. “Device” in the present specification represents a device connected with a network, such as a printer, a facsimile, and a copy machine. In the present specification, there may be a case where a terminal for managing a device is simply called a “terminal”. Similarly, there may be a case where a local area network is simply called a “network” or “LAN”. The terminal is required to obtain a device identifier for identifying the device connected with the same network prior to starting the management of the device. An IP address according to the TCP/IP is a typical example of the device identifiers.
It is a great disturbance for the user to manually input the device identifier into the terminal every time a new device is connected with the network. Conventionally, the terminal has obtained the device identifier of a device newly-connected to the network by utilizing a communication command called a broadcast. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-154967 discloses such a terminal.